Synopses & Reviews
Cascading Style Sheets can turn humdrum websites into highly-functional, professional-looking destinations, but many designers merely treat CSS as window-dressing to spruce up their site's appearance. You can tap into the real power of this tool with
CSS: The Missing Manual. This second edition combines crystal-clear explanations, real-world examples, and dozens of step-by-step tutorials to show you how to design sites with CSS that work consistently across browsers. Witty and entertaining, this second edition gives you up-to-the-minute pro techniques. You'll learn how to:
- Create HTML that's simpler, uses less code, is search-engine friendly, and works well with CSS
- Style text by changing fonts, colors, font sizes, and adding borders
- Turn simple HTML links into complex and attractive navigation bars -- complete with rollover effects
- Create effective photo galleries and special effects, including drop shadows
- Get up to speed on CSS 3 properties that work in the latest browser versions
- Build complex layouts using CSS, including multi-column designs
- Style web pages for printing
With CSS: The Missing Manual, Second Edition, you'll find all-new online tutorial pages, expanded CSS 3 coverage, and broad support for Firebox, Safari, and other major web browsers, including Internet Explorer 8. Learn how to use CSS effectively to build new websites, or refurbish old sites that are due for an upgrade.
Synopsis
This updated bestseller offers an introductory soup-to-nuts course in using CSS, with step-by-step instructions and all-new online tutorial web pages. Written in the witty and entertaining Missing Manual style, this second edition will cover more elements of CSS 3, the specification's latest version, and Internet Explorer 8. Newcomers and experienced web designers alike will learn how to tap into the real power of CSS to build sparklingly new websites, or refurbish old sites that are ready for an upgrade.
About the Author
David Sawyer McFarland is president of Sawyer McFarland Media, Inc., a Web development and training company in Portland, Oregon. He's been building websites since 1995, when he designed an online magazine for communication professionals. He's served as webmaster at the University of California at Berkeley and the Berkeley Multimedia Research Center, and oversaw a complete CSS-driven redesign of Macworld.com. David is also a writer, trainer, and teaches in the Portland State University multimedia program. He wrote the bestselling Missing Manual titles on Adobe Dreamweaver, CSS, and JavaScript.
Table of Contents
The Missing Credits; About the Author; About the Creative Team; Acknowledgements; The Missing Manual Series; Introduction; How CSS Works; The Benefits of CSS; What You Need to Know; HTML: The Barebones Structure; How HTML Tags Work; XHTML: HTML for the New Era?; HTML 5: The Wheel Turns Again; Software for CSS; About This Book; The Very Basics; Part I: CSS Basics; Chapter 1: Rethinking HTML for CSS; 1.1 HTML: Past and Present; 1.2 Writing HTML for CSS; 1.3 The Importance of the Doctype; 1.4 Getting the Most out of Internet Explorer 8; Chapter 2: Creating Styles and Style Sheets; 2.1 Anatomy of a Style; 2.2 Understanding Style Sheets; 2.3 Internal Style Sheets; 2.4 External Style Sheets; 2.5 Tutorial: Creating Your First Styles; Chapter 3: Selectors: Identifying What to Style; 3.1 Tag Selectors: Page-Wide Styling; 3.2 Class Selectors: Pinpoint Control; 3.3 ID Selectors: Specific Page Elements; 3.4 Styling Groups of Tags; 3.5 Styling Tags Within Tags; 3.6 Pseudo-Classes and Pseudo-Elements; 3.7 Advanced Selectors; 3.8 Tutorial: Selector Sampler; Chapter 4: Saving Time with Style Inheritance; 4.1 What Is Inheritance?; 4.2 How Inheritance Streamlines Style Sheets; 4.3 The Limits of Inheritance; 4.4 Tutorial: Inheritance; Chapter 5: Managing Multiple Styles: The Cascade; 5.1 How Styles Cascade; 5.2 Specificity: Which Style Wins; 5.3 Controlling the Cascade; 5.4 Tutorial: The Cascade in Action; Part II: Applied CSS; Chapter 6: Formatting Text; 6.1 Formatting Text; 6.2 Changing Font Size; 6.3 Formatting Words and Letters; 6.4 Formatting Entire Paragraphs; 6.5 Styling Lists; 6.6 Tutorial: Text Formatting in Action; Chapter 7: Margins, Padding, and Borders; 7.1 Understanding the Box Model; 7.2 Control Space with Margins and Padding; 7.3 Adding Borders; 7.4 Coloring the Background; 7.5 Determining Height and Width; 7.6 Wrap Content with Floating Elements; 7.7 Tutorial: Margins, Backgrounds, and Borders; Chapter 8: Adding Graphics to Web Pages; 8.1 CSS and the Tag; 8.2 Background Images; 8.3 Controlling Repetition; 8.4 Positioning a Background Image; 8.5 Using Background Property Shorthand; 8.6 Tutorial: Enhancing Images; 8.7 Tutorial: Creating a Photo Gallery; 8.8 Tutorial: Using Background Images; Chapter 9: Sprucing Up Your Site's Navigation; 9.1 Selecting Which Links to Style; 9.2 Styling Links; 9.3 Building Navigation Bars; 9.4 Advanced Link Techniques; 9.5 Tutorial: Styling Links; 9.6 Tutorial: Creating a Navigation Bar; Chapter 10: Formatting Tables and Forms; 10.1 Using Tables the Right Way; 10.2 Styling Tables; 10.3 Styling Forms; 10.4 Tutorial: Styling a Table; 10.5 Tutorial: Styling a Form; Part III: CSS Page Layout; Chapter 11: Introducing CSS Layout; 11.1 Types of Web Page Layouts; 11.2 How CSS Layout Works; 11.3 Layout Strategies; Chapter 12: Building Float-Based Layouts; 12.1 Applying Floats to Your Layouts; 12.2 Overcoming Float Problems; 12.3 Handling Internet Explorer 6 Bugs; 12.4 Tutorial: Multiple-Column Layouts; 12.5 Tutorial: Negative Margin Layout; Chapter 13: Positioning Elements on a Web Page; 13.1 How Positioning Properties Work; 13.2 Powerful Positioning Strategies; 13.3 Tutorial: Positioning Page Elements; Part IV: Advanced CSS; Chapter 14: CSS for the Printed Page; 14.1 How Media Style Sheets Work; 14.2 How to Add Media Style Sheets; 14.3 Creating Print Style Sheets; 14.4 Tutorial: Building a Print Style Sheet; Chapter 15: Improving Your CSS Habits; 15.1 Adding Comments; 15.2 Organizing Styles and Style Sheets; 15.3 Eliminating Browser Style Interference; 15.4 Using Descendent Selectors; 15.5 Managing Internet Explorer Hacks; Chapter 16: CSS 3: CSS on the Edge; 16.1 An Overview of CSS 3; 16.2 CSS 3 Selectors; 16.3 Opacity; 16.4 RGBA Color; 16.5 Text Shadow; 16.6 Font Freedom; 16.7 Generated Content; Part V: Appendixes; CSS Property Reference; CSS Values; Text Properties; List Properties; Padding, Borders, and Margins; Backgrounds; Page Layout Properties; Table Properties; Miscellaneous Properties; CSS in Dreamweaver CS4; Creating Styles; Adding Styles to Web Pages; Editing Styles; Managing Styles; Examining Your CSS in the Styles Panel; Using the Code Navigator; CSS Resources; References; CSS Help; CSS Tips, Tricks, and Advice; CSS Navigation; CSS and Graphics; CSS Layout; Browser Bugs; Showcase Sites; CSS Books; CSS Software; Colophon;